So many folks work tirelessly behind the scenes to make OpenStack great, whether they are fixing bugs, contributing code, helping newbies on IRC or just making everyone laugh at the right moment.

You can help them get recognized (with a very shiny medal!) by nominating them for the next Contributor Awards given out at the upcoming OpenStack Summit Vancouver. These are informal, quirky awards — winners in previous editions included the “Duct Tape” award and the “Don’t Stop Believin’ Cup” — that shine a light on the extremely valuable work that makes OpenStack excel.

There’s so many different areas worthy of celebration, but there are a few kinds of community members who deserve a little extra love:

They are undervalued

They don’t know they are appreciated

They bind the community together

They keep it fun

They challenge the norm
Other: (write-in)

As before, rather than starting with a defined set of awards, the community is asked to submit names in those broad categories. The OSF community team then has a little bit of fun on the back end, massaging the award titles to devise something worthy of their underappreciated efforts.

“There are A LOT of people out there who could use a pat on the back and the affirmation that they do good work for the community, ” says OSF’s Kendall Nelson. Please nominate anyone you think is deserving of an award! Deadline is May 14.